


The Paladins of Voltron

by LoreScarlet



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst with a Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, M/M, SHEITH - Freeform, fantasy!au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-17 12:50:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14189322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoreScarlet/pseuds/LoreScarlet
Summary: In a fantasy setting, after Keith's town is ravaged by Zarkon and Lotor, he finds a magical amulet connected to the Paladins of Voltron. He searches for others in hopes to destroy Zarkon and Lotor. With eventual Sheith!





	1. Out of the Ashes

Chapter I

I could still hear the screams and cries and the blazing fire in the distance as I ran.

I made running all I could do, running was all I thought about, running was me. After all I couldn’t think back on what had just happened or I would literally fall apart.

For that brief moment of recollection I lost my footing and fell down. I managed to put my fingerless-gloved hands out forward and fell on them instead of my face.

I could hear the screams and the cries and the roaring voice of him. The man who caused all of this chaos. My vision grew blurry with tears and as I clenched my eyes shut I remembered that shock of long white hair and shining white armor atop a horse. His arm stretched out with a sword that dripped with the blood of the people from my village.

What happened? Nothing happened. Or at least I had to convince myself of that. It took everything I had to convince myself of that.

I rubbed the tears away and stood up on unsteady legs. I was shaking and breathing ragged from running and crying and all I wanted to do was fall onto the earth and die. Only I had the drive in me to survive. I couldn’t let them win.

I took off running again, hearing the screams grow further in the distance. Now the sound of tree branches was louder than their cries.

I didn’t know where I was running to until I reached the thick part of the forest and found a small crumbling building. It was more like a shack than a building. It was too small to be a house, and it almost looked like a shrine of some kind.

I knew I was far from the village because it was a dead silence. Or at least I hoped that was why the screams and cries were inaudible.

I hopped over fallen stones from the building and huddled inside. It wasn’t much of a hiding place, for most of the walls were a crumpled heap on the ground, but it was better than nothing. I was shorter than the average guy, so I was concealed behind the piles of stone.

I leaned against the stone and felt like my heart might leap out of my chest it beat so hard. I thought I was going to loose it there, like all of what had just happened was going to pour out of me when I saw in one of the walls of the buildings was an alcove with a bright shining red light. I stood up and walked towards it. It was the only wall that was intact on the building. And inside the alcove was the statue of a lion. In its mouth was a red amulet hanging on a thick silver chain. The amulet was shaped like the head of a lion and shined brightly.

I reached out my hand and grabbed it. It felt like static electricity as I touched the amulet and held it in my hand. I felt a great rush of power like wind rush through me, causing me to step backwards. When I opened my eyes there was a large red lion in front of me. But he was shining bright as the amulet and I could see through him. It was a spirit. Could it be?

I remembered the stories my mother told me of the lions of Voltron. But they were bedtime stories, it couldn’t be real could it?

As if it could talk to me I asked, “Voltron?”

And the lion roared softly and suddenly in my mind I saw the image of myself in shining red armor, along with four others in green, black, yellow, and blue armor. I recognized the paladin in black as Shiro from my village. 

This was Voltron is what the lion was communicating with me telepathically. I looked down at the amulet. It had to be. It was one of the five amulets for the Paladins of Voltron. I had to find the other people with the other amulets. It was the only way to save Altea from Zarkon and his son Lotor.

When I looked up the lion was gone and where he stood was a scroll. On it it said, "Submerged deep within the frozen waste, find the amulet with haste."

I waited for long enough time to pass before I headed back to the village. As I approached it all I could smell was burnt wood, and the distinct smell of a funeral pyre. My stomach churned and I wretched onto the ground.

I wiped my mouth before walking further towards the village. The village was in shambles and disarray. Buildings were burning. Barrels overturned. Bodies were strewn about the streets, burnt to cinders or painted red with blood.

I didn’t see anyone that was living.

I blindly ran towards my home. It was smothered in flames. I shuttered as I saw the door was slightly ajar.

I pushed the door open to find my parents splayed on the floor. A beam from the ceiling was on top of my mom, pinning her lifeless body to the ground. My father was next to her, as if he was comforting her before he met his end to the end of a dagger that still stuck out from him, dripping with his blood.

I cried out and pulled the sword from him. Another beam fell from the ceiling and narrowly hit me. I fell back on my hands. The heat of the fire was intense and the smoke was going into my lungs.

I didn’t have much time. I packed what I could, which wasn’t much, before leaving my house behind. I shouldn’t have ran. I should have stayed. I could have saved them. I could have.

I crumbled to the ground. It was my fault. I was a coward.

“Keith?” I heard a familiar voice say.

“S-Shiro?” I murmured and looked up through tear-covered eyes. Surely enough it was my best friend and childhood friend. He wore a black shirt and black pants. His face was covered in ashes.

“You’re okay!” He cried out and ran towards me, putting a hand on my shoulder. He extended his prosthetic arm out and touched my shoulder. I could feel the weight of his metal hand through the material of my red jacket.

“No,” I said and I fell apart. I pushed his hand away from my shoulder. I cried out and tears streamed down my face. I hated people seeing me cry. No one ever has. But my entire village was destroyed and my parents were dead. But Shiro--Shiro was alive.

“But you’re alive,” he said with relief and bent down to kneel next to me. He was still massive compared to me with height and muscle mass.

Hardly alive. And I don’t know how I was alive. I mean I remembered my parents screaming at me to run far far away. But… “How did you survive?”

“I fought off the soldiers that were in my house and I hid from them in the cellar. They never did find me,” he said.  “We’re the only survivors.” He said this mournfully. His aunt and uncle were dead then too. His parents died long ago.

I was thankful that he was alive, that was something.

I sat there crying for what seemed like forever, with Shiro’s hand on my shoulder until the sky was dark, save for the flickers of flames dancing on top of the embers of our town.

When the flames died down, so did my tears, and I looked at Shiro and said, “We have to find Voltron.”

“Voltron?” He said and he laughed a little bit. “I know it’s been a rough day but that’s just a legend, Keith.”

“It’s not!” I said and stood up. I took the necklace off of my neck and held out the amulet. “It’s real! I found the amulet of the Paladins of Voltron.”

His eyes opened wide and he touched it with his fingers. “Where did you find that?”

“In a shrine in the woods,” I said. “It’s real, Voltron is real and we can save Altea. We just have to find the other paladins, and get this—you’re one of the paladins.”

“What?”

“It’s true, the lion of Voltron showed me a vision of the paladins and you were one of them.”

“It can’t be,” he said. “If that’s true then where is my amulet?”

“We have to find it,” I said. “Do you know how big Altea is, Keith? That could take years.”

“Maybe, but this is all we have.” Besides each other. But I’d never say that out loud. I hated my stupid heart for how it was feeling right now. Even after everything that happened I couldn’t deny the feelings I had towards him. Feelings he would never know about. After all, he was my best friend.

I shouldn’t have been thinking about him after all that happened, but here it was. At least it was a distraction from everything. I couldn’t loose it again, even though it felt like I could fall apart at the seams at any moment.

"Where would we even start looking?"

“No one has found them, but that’s because they haven’t found this one. You know the legend, the amulet shows the way. It will glow when we’re close to another one.”

“This is crazy,” he said and ruffles his hair.

"And I found this," I said and held up the scroll.

He took it from me and read it. "So the other amulet is in ice?"

I nodded. “Shiro, will you help me find your amulet and the rest of the Paladins of Voltron?”

He seemed to think for a moment before he smiled softly. Shiro, even smiling in the ashes of our town. That was Shiro for you. I wish I could be so brave.  “Yes. Let's go."


	2. An Unlikely Ally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith and Shiro look for the second amulet. Along the way Keith has to deal with his feelings he has towards Shiro while avoiding the dangerous Fae of the Great Forest. No big deal. Also, expect to see a few familar faces.

“So if the amulet is in ice, it has to be talking about the Icelands of Altea,” I said.

“That’s the only thing that makes sense.” Shiro said and produced a map from his bag. He seemed more prepared than I was.

All I had managed to grab was some bread, my favorite book, and the dagger I found.

“The Icelands are North, so we’ll have to travel through the Great Forest first,” he explained.

“It looks like a straight shot,” I said after he lowered the map so I could get a look at it.

“Lotor seems to be attacking villages, so he shouldn’t be in the Forest,” Shiro said. “We should be okay.”

“But the forest has its own problems,” I said. “There’s fae and treefolk…”

“We’ll be fine, besides—you have the amulet. Doesn’t it do powerful stuff?”

“It does, but I don’t know how to use it,” I admitted.

“We’ll figure it out,” he said. “Let’s head out.”

So we headed North. I turned around one last time at the remains of my village and shuddered. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get to return, but then again, what was there to return to?

It took us an entire day to get to the Great Forest, but we got through unscathed.

When it grew dark we found a willow-wisp tree, and decided it would be a good place to crash for the night.

Shiro pulled a blanket out of his pack and lay back onto the ground. He put his pack under his head, and draped the blanket over him.

I lay down a distance from him, putting my pack under my head.

“You don’t have a blanket?” Shiro asked.

“No. I didn’t get a chance to grab much,” I said. “But I’ll be fine.”

“It’s cold!” He said.

He was right, the temperature had gone down and even with my jacket it was cold. We were getting closer to the Icelands after all.

“I’ll live,” I grumbled and closed my eyes.

“No,” he said and I heard him shuffle around.

When I opened my eyes I saw him lying next to me. He draped the blanket over both of us.

“Shiro,” I groaned.

“Deal with it,” he said. “You don’t need to be getting sick on day one.”

I sighed and said, “Fine.”

“Good night,” he said and closed his eyes.

I tried to close my eyes to go to sleep as well, but I realized how close I was to Shiro. I mean he would spend the night, but usually I would sleep in my bed and he would sleep on the floor. And even then it was hard to sleep with him around. My stupid heart wouldn’t let me sleep.

And now this close to him? It was torture. It took everything I had not to wrap my arms around him.

I opened my eyes and saw his peaceful, sleeping face. He was gorgeous, he really was.

Maybe I should just tell him how I feel, just get it over with. Get rejected so that maybe I could move on. But I wasn’t willing to through away our friendship, and I knew that would be it. That our friendship would die if I professed my love for him.

He turned in his sleep, and was facing me. My heart jumped for a moment thinking he had woken up and would see me looking at him. But he was fast asleep.

His face just inches from mine. I could feel his warm breath against my lips. Even after the day of traveling he smelled good. He smelled woodsy like the forest we were in, but also sweet like the honey from our village. Our village…

My heart lurched again. I sat up and pushed the blanket away. How could I think about Shiro like this after everything that happened? I was so damn selfish. That’s why I was alive anyways, because of how selfish I was.

I shouldn’t have run, I should have stayed and protected my family.

I crawled out from under the tree and sat on the ground under the moon. Tear stingged the edges of my eyes. I balled my hands into a fist. I punched my thigh, hard, and hoped it would leave a bruise. I hated myself.

“Keith?” Shiro said from behind me.

I wiped away the tears and looked down.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I just couldn’t sleep,” I said. I mean, it was true. I couldn’t sleep, but for reasons he didn’t need to now about.

I turned around and looked at him. The way the moonlight hit his raven black and snow white colored hair. He had black hair shaved close to his head, and a long tuft of white hair on top of his head that was long and usually got into his eyes.

I turned away from him again. He was a nice distraction but it hurt to think about him just as much.

He sat next to me and put his prosthetic arm on my leg. His touch was electric and went straight to my heart which beat, beat, beat fast.

Shiro was a touchy guy, always touching you on the shoulder, on the leg, giving you hugs. It was something I was never used to. I used to hate it because I had a thing about people touching me—never liked it. But ever since I realized my feelings for Shiro, it got worse. Now his touches meant something more. It felt intimate, but I knew it wasn’t supposed to. He was my best friend and he touched everyone like this. I wasn’t special. He wasn’t in love with me.

“We’ll be okay,” he said suddenly. “Really.”

“Everyone is gone, Shiro,” I said. “And my parents—”

“There’s nothing we could have done.”

“Bullshit,” I said a little too loudly. “You don’t understand, I ran, Shiro. When I found out Lotor was in our village I ran like a coward and hid in that shrine. I should have stayed and fought I should have--”

“Keith,” he said. “I stayed and fought. Many people did. But they didn’t survive and I barely did. I wasn’t able to save anyone. If you had stayed I’m sure it would have been the same.”

“No!” I yelled and stood up. “I could have saved them!”

I felt the anger sear through me and make my heart beat fast for a different reason now.

“You survived, that’s all that matters,” he said.

“No it’s not,” I said. “I shouldn’t be alive. I should be dead like the rest of them.” And I took of running. I didn’t know where I was going but I couldn’t be around Shiro. He was a reminder of the village that was left in ashes, and he was a reminder of my weak heart. That was it. I felt weak around him and I hated it. I couldn’t be around him.

I stopped running and walked. I was out of breath. I didn’t know where I was. Shit. I was impulsive and quick to react and I hated that.

I turned around and started to walk back but I realized that the world had seemed a blurr as I ran. Was this the way I had gone?

I saw a light up ahead, and realized it wasn’t the same way it couldn’t be.

I should have feared what was ahead in the light, but I felt drawn to it. I kept walking until I started to hear music and singing and voices. I stepped further still and saw a clearing lit by orbs floating in the sky.

All around me were people dancing to the music. They had long pointed ears, and their skin was purple, tan, blue, and green. They had the tell tale marks under their eyes of the fae.

I remembered rhymes as a kid, “Never into the Great Forest should you go, or the fae will have your soul.”

I was taught as a kid that they were dangerous and never to be trusted. That you should never interact with them, and here I was walking right into their party.

“A human?” One of them said, and stopped dancing.

They were purple with pointed ears, wearing a black tunic and blue pants. They approached me and I shuttered.

I shouldn’t have ran, it was stupid. All I wanted was to go back to Shiro and our tree and I should have gone to sleep.

“What are you doing out here little human?” he asked. As he approached me I realized just how tall the fae were. They were taller than Shiro even.

I felt very small and powerless. I had left the dagger in my pack back at the tree.

“All alone are you?” Another, grey colored fae girl asked.

“No,” I lied.

The purple skinned fae laughed.

“Ah, what is this, human?” The grey one asked and pointed to my amulet. I had forgotten it was there. I should have kept it under my shirt. “A Paladin of Voltron?”

I stepped back away from them, but thy stepped forward.

“Zarkon would pay a pretty penny for this,” The purple one said and held his hand up. His long claws were visible. “He’s been sending Lotor out to find them afterall.”

So that’s why he’s been raiding villages. To find the amulets.

“Leave him alone,” A pretty tanned fae said and walked towards us. She had pink markings under eyes. “It is an honor to receive a visit from a Paladin of Voltron.” She smiled brightly.

“Yes your majesty,” the purple fae said and knelt down.

The tanned fae held her hand out, her claws detracted. “Princess Allura of the Fae,” she introduced herself as.

“Keith,” I said, and it seemed lackluster compared to her so I said, “of Voltron.”

“Wow, a real Paladin,” she beamed. “It’s been a long long time since I’ve met one of you.” I knew the fae were old, but I didn’t know they were that old. “Wherever did you find it?”

“It’s not important,” I said. I didn’t fully trust them.

“Very well,” Allura said. “So, Paladin of Voltron were as you and your fellow Paladins headed?”

“It’s not important,” I said again and I turned on the heel of my boot and walked out of the clearing and back into the forest.

“Let me come with you,” Allura said.

“What?” I said and turned around.

“The Fae were once friends of the Paladins, we can restore that!”

“But Princess!” A voice said from behind her and a fae with orange hair and a bushy mustache stood next to her. “You must stay in the Great Forest and lead your people.”

“You can lead them in my place while I am gone,” she said.

“Very well,” he said.

“Wait! Who said I’m going to let you join me?” I said.

“I know you’re lost,” she said with a playful grin. “And I know you’re alone.”

“I told you I’m not alone,” I said.

“Then where are the other Paladins?”

“They’re back at camp.”

“Then allow me to bring you back to your camp, and we will revisit this conversation,” Allura said. “It would be my honor.”

“Fine,” I said and we headed into the Forest.

“These aren’t just for looks you know,” she said and tapped her ears. “I’m rather good at tracking.”

She lead me through the forest until we saw a figure up ahead.

“Keith!” Shiro said, and he came into my vision. He was lit by the moonlight.

I stepped towards him and looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” he said. “Just don’t do it again. But on another note—who is this?” He gestured at Allura.

“This is Princess Allura, of the Fae,” I said and sheepishly grinned.

“The Fae?” he said and stood back defensively.

“There’s several clans of Fae,” Allura said. “My clan are a peaceful group. We do not harm humans. We prefer to keep to ourselves.”

“How can we trust her?”

“We hasn’t done anything to me,” I admitted. “She seemed to be okay.”

“I want to join you and your fight,” Allura said. “Let me aid you in defeating Zarkon.”

“Give us a moment,” Shiro said.

“Sure,” she said and we walked a little ways away from her.

“She knows you’re a Paladin?” Shiro said.

“I forgot to hide my amulet,” I said.

“Great,” he said and rubbed his temples.

“I know, I don’t like this either but--”

“But we need help,” Shiro said.

“Not exactly what I was going to say…”

 “We need all the help we can get,” Shiro said.

“Then it’s settled!” Allura cheered from behind us.

“You were listening?” I said.

“Sorry,” she said and grimaced. “Remember?” She tapped her ears. “Now, come with me back to our Clan and we can prepare for our journey.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Shiro said and he handed me my pack. He had his slung across his shoulders.

We followed her back into the Great Forest, and went back through the party.

“Another human!” A fae exclaimed.

“These are the Paladins of Voltron,” Princess Allura explained to her people. “I will be accompanying them to—er…where is it you were going?”

“We’re going to the Icelands,” Shiro said. “To find my amulet.”

“You mean you don’t have it yet?” A fae asked.

“No, but we will find it, and the other amulets.”

The fae burst into laughter.

“I believe in them,” Allura said.

“Thank you,” Shiro said.

“I’m not one hundred percent sure that I believe in myself,” I said, and Shiro laughed. But it wasn’t really supposed to be a joke.

“Come,” Allura said, and we walked out of the party and into a beautiful city made up of tree houses illuminated by orbs of light that floated in the sky.

She tapped a tree and a staircase emerged from the tree and led up to one of the houses. It was the biggest house that I could see in the city.

We climbed up the staircase and entered the building. The inside was all made of wood, but with fine tapestries and what looked like a waterfall in the middle of the front room. Behind this was a throne.

“What will you need, Princess?” A voice said behind me.

I turned around to see the man with the mustache. I hadn’t realized he was still there. I guess he had followed us here.

“Anything you require, Paladins!” Allura said.

And we told her everything we thought we would need for our journey.

I asked for a blanket, among other things…

Allura packed her own bag.

When we were done packing she said, “Now, let us rest for the night, and travel at dawn.”

“Alright,” I said.

“Show them to their rooms,” Allura said before she disappeared behind the waterfall.

The mustached man took us down the hall, and gestured to a room.

“You can take it,” I said to Shiro.

“No, you take it, Keith,” he said.

“Fine,” I said and I opened the door. I stepped inside and closed the door after me. It was a room bigger than the house I had back at the village. It had a sitting area, a fireplace, and a large bed that was suspended in the air—held up by some kind of of magic.

I set my pack on the ground and crawled into bed. I lay on my side and missed the warmth of Shiro next to me. But at least I’d be able to get sleep.

Before I knew it I fell asleep.


	3. Feelings Trapped In Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After an interesting morning the group leaves the Great Forest and heads into the dangers of the Icelands. Keith considers telling Shiro how he feels.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the kudos!!! I really appreciate it! I hope you guys like Chapter 3! It was a lot of fun to write.

I woke up to someone shaking me, and when I opened my eyes I saw Shiro standing next to the bed in nothing but a towel around his waist.

Shirtless Shiro next to my bed? I quickly sat up and rubbed my eyes. Was I still dreaming?

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.

Okay, so I wasn’t dreaming.

I tried not to look at his well defined muscles, along his chest and the trail of hair on his stomach that disappeared into the towel.

I’d seen him shirtless hundreds of times. We used to swim all the time. Or work outside together. But ever since I discovered my feelings for him, seeing him shirtless was almost painful.

Don’t look down, don’t look down—just focus on his eyes.

“It’s okay, I should get up anyways,” I said, and I was glad I had slept in my clothes from the night before.

“Allura has a bath ready for you if you want one,” he said. “Actual hot water and everything! These fae have it made. Oh, and you should see the breakfast she has set up for us. Well, you’ll see. Come down to the main room after your bath.”

“Sure thing,” I said and he left the room. I couldn’t help but watch his muscles stretch against his shoulder blades as he walked away.

This journey wasn’t going to be easy, for a number of reasons…

***

The bath was amazing. Allura had homemade soaps and soaks for the bath and the water was like Shiro said, actually hot. Back at the village we would have to share the same water from a bath, and it was never warm—always room temperature.

The village…

I tried to forget about it, but it was always in the back of my mind—it probably would always be like that.

“Keith!” Shiro said when I entered the main room. He was back in his clothes, thankfully, and was smiling.

My stomach growled.

“Come here, you sound like you’re ready for breakfast,” he said and he led me to another room. It was filled with a large table. Allura was seated at the head of the table, with the mustached man standing next to her.

“Coran, thank you for making all the preparations,” she said to him.

“It is my pleasure, Princess!”

On the table were what looked like hundreds of food items like meats, breads, cheeses, and fruits and an array of beverages.

“Dig in everyone!” Allura said. “We’ll need our strength for the journey.”

***

“Are you ready?” Shiro asked when I finished eating.

“Yes,” I said and turned to Allura. “You’re sure you want to come with us? There are frost giants and frost elementals in the Icelands.”

“He’s right, Princess,” Coran said.

“And there’s dark fae and treefolk in the Great Forest, which I have lived in for thousands of years, I think I’ll manage.”

“I forget how old fae are,” I said and turned to Shiro. I felt young compared to everyone else. I was only 18. Shiro was 25, and Allura and Coran were thousands of years old.

“Let me accompany you, Princess,” Coran said. “I can carry all of your luggage and prepare meals!”

“Then who will rule in my place? Who will protect the fae?”

“The fae can protect themselves, I think they can manage,” Coran said and added, “If I may be so bold to say, milady.”

“Very well,” she said and looked at us. “Is that alright is Coran joined us?”

Before I could say anything Shiro said, “More the merrier!”

They all looked at me and I shrugged. “More the merrier…”

***

The fae didn’t look happy as Allura and our new group left the City, but that was to be expected. Fae didn’t trust humans, and humans definitely didn’t trust fae. I didn’t know how to convince the other Paladins that Allura and Coran could be trusted—after all Lotor was half fae himself. His other half was Galra as was his father, Lord Zarkon.

Fae were often mistaken for Galra as they both had pointed ears. But Galra had ears more like that of a wild cat. The Galra had markings too but they were usually stripes along their face, whereas the fae had markings like arrows under their eyes. Like those Allura and Coran had.

“I’ll be back before you all know it,” Allura said to the fae before we headed out.

We walked through the Great Forest. I was at the front, Shiro behind me, Allura behind him, and Coran next to Allura.

I was glad Shiro was behind me. These days he was too distracting…

It wasn’t long before I could hear the moans of the Treefolk. It was a wailing sort of sound.

“Watch out for them,” Shiro said.

I got my dagger out. I knew Treefolk could only die to fire, but I hoped the dagger could do something.

We neared the grove of the Treefolk. It looked like a dense part of the forest with long and knotted trees. But as we stepped closer I could make out the faces on the trees, and they’re flailing arms.

I dodged out of the way as one of them tried to grab me.

The tree screeched, a high-pitched sound in my ears as I stepped away from it.

I managed to get through the grove unharmed, as did the others.

It wasn’t long before we could see snow start to fall, and the Treefolk were gone, wailing in the distance.

“The Icelands are close,” Shiro said from behind me.

It wasn’t long before we reached the Icelands.

“The scroll said it’s trapped in ice and to make haste,” I said.

“Maybe it’s in a glacier,” Allura offered. “Those melt overtime? So maybe that’s why we must make haste?”

“I hope the glacier is still there,” Shiro said.

“Do you know how many glaciers there are here?” I said and put my hands up. I was starting to get mad. I was realizing how impossible all of this is.

“Keith!” Shiro whisper-yelled. “Behind you!”

I looked behind me and saw feet the size of our house. I audibly gulped and stood back. I was looking up at the face of a Frost Giant.

It was massive and was carrying a club that was entirely made out of ice.

“Wait,” Shiro said. “In the club, something is glowing!”

“I don’t see it,” I said and looked at the club. There was nothing that was glowing. But there was not enough time to look. “Everyone dodge!” I yelled.

The club was coming down slowly but steadily and towards us. Shiro tripped as he tried to get away and fell to the ground.

I had to save him. He was all that I had.

So I did the only thing I could think of and held my hands up towards the club as if I could stop it and suddenly my amulet started to glow and float in front of me.

Red armor appeared on my body and the red lion appeared in front of me. It was  stopping the club from pummeling Shiro.

The club shattered into pieces and an amulet with a black stone fell from it and into the snow on the ground. Shiro quickly grabbed it and a scroll that was next to it. A black lion spirit appeared before us and roared at the Frost Giant. It was enough of a distraction so that could run away and back into the Great Forest.

“You found the second amulet,” Allura said incredulously.

“It’s mine,” Shiro said. And sure enough in his hands it was glowing brightly.

“What does the scroll say?” I asked.

“What you seek is lost at sea, and there it shall be.”

“That’s it?” I said and balled my hands into a fist. “Are you kidding me? Is there more?”

“No, that’s all that it says,” Shiro said.

“There are two different seas. There’s the Western and the Eastern,” I said. “How are we to know which one?”

“I guess we have to pick one and look for it,” Shiro said.

“Do you realize how big the sea is? How are we—”

“We’ll figure it out Keith,” Shiro said and put his hand on my shoulder.

I exhaled and softened. He had that sort of effect on me. “Yeah, okay, so which one do we go to first?”

“West,” Shiro said and at the same time Allura said, “East.”

“Coran,” I said and turned to him. “You’re the deciding vote.”

“As are you,” Coran said.

“At the same time then, one, two, three—west,” I said and at the same time Coran said, “West.”

“It’s settled then, we will go to the Western Sea,” Shiro said.

“Let’s camp before nightfall,” Coran suggested. “This seems like an okay place to rest at.”

“But we need to find the amulet, we need to defeat Zarkon!” I said and pointed towards the West. “We have to find the next Paladin! I remember seeing a blue Paladin in my vision. He was tall with tan skin and brown hair and we have to find him!”

“Keith,” Shiro said and put his hand on my shoulder. “We can’t save the world in a night.”

“Yeah, you’re right…” I said and nodded.

“All finished!” Coran said and when I turned around I saw that while we were talking he had already set up camp. There were two tents. “I will gather wood for the fire and we are set.”

“Mine!” Allura said and took the first tent. Before popping in the tent she said, “And you boys can share.”

The tent was about the size of the dining room table we had at breakfast, so it would fit all three of us, but it would still be a tight fit. I entered the tent and saw Coran had set out three blankets. I would use my pack as a pillow.

I could hear a crow cawing outside of the tent.

I set my pack down at the far end, and was about to lay down when I heard Shiro whisper-yell, “Keith!”

What now? I thought and I exited the tent. Shiro was crouched down. I could hear horses in the distance.

“Shit.”

“What’s going on?” Allura asked, popping her head out of the tent.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?” A Galra solder asked. There were three of them on horseback.

“You’re about to find out,” I replied and held my dagger out.

The Galra soldiers burst into laughter.

“It’s about time you tell me how to use this,” Shiro whispered to me and pointed to his amulet. He had a sword Allura had given him in his other hand.

“To be honest I don’t know,” I said.

“You’re quite amusing, human. I will spare your life if you will join our army,” the first Galra said.

“Never,” I shouted.

“Then you choose death.”

He didn’t even get off his horse, he just charged towards me with a sword in his hand.

I held my hands out and imagined the armor, but nothing happened.

He swung his sword at me and it cut my arm. I cried out and fell to the ground.

“Keith!” Shiro shouted and was at my side.

The other Galra soldiers galloped towards us, swords first. But suddenly Shiro glowed and black and white armor appeared on him. He held up his sword in his hands and parried the first attack.

I parried the second with my dagger.

“Interesting,” the Galra said.

“Freeze!” Allura shouted and suddenly the Galra stopped moving. “Everyone, run!”

We followed her through the woods. We ran into Coran and kept running until the campsite was a distant memory.

“We have to go back,” I said. “All of our stuff is there and…Shiro! Do you have the scroll?”

“Shit! I left it at the campsite,” he said.

“Great, now Lotor knows where to find the next amulet.” I said and punched the nearest tree. My knuckles were red with blood.

When we returned to the campsite, the tents were ransacked and all of or stuff was gone. We had nothing but a few tents, blankets and empty packs.

At least Coran had a bow for hunting, we had the weapons and we had the amulets.

***

We had re-set up the tents, and Coran had hunted for some game. We had a meager dinner, and we all sat quietly around the fire that Coran set-up. I was the last to stay at the fire when the others went to sleep.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and Shiro sat next to me. “Are you okay?”

His touch made my heart leap. I wanted so badly to turn to him and wrap my arms around him and fall asleep like that. Forget about the world for just a moment.

“No,” I said. “I mean, how are you doing? You can’t be doing okay either.”

“No, I’m not,” Shiro said. “But what’s the point in being upset? We can’t do anything, we just have to move on.”

He was right. He was always right. I wished I could be more like him. But I was always getting upset. I couldn’t move on.

But that’s why I loved him. It’s because of how strong he was. His courage. His strength. Everything about him.

I loved everything about him.

I looked up at him into his eyes. The firelight was dancing in them and for that moment I thought maybe I should tell him. Just say, Shiro, I love you. But he was all I had. I had no one else. And I couldn’t ruin the little I had left.

So I just said, “Good night, Shiro,” and went into the tent—and went to my bed. To my dismay Coran slept on the bed at the very end. So I would be sleeping next to Shiro again, and not getting much sleep...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look forward to Chapter 4 tomorrow!


	4. Lost At Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group finds the Paladin with the amulet that was lost at sea. Keith tries to keep his feeling hidden from Shiro.

Chapter 4

When I woke up I found myself in someone’s embrace. I looked down at the arm and recognized Shiro’s prosthetic arm. I guess he accidently put it around me in his sleep?

I glanced to my left. Coran was gone. It was just us in the tent.

I turned to my right to find Shiro with his eyes open and a playful grin. “I was wondering when you were going to wake up.”

And that’s when I noticed that he was shirtless and when I looked down so was I. My face told everything because Shiro said, “Last night was incredible, Keith.”

I sat up keeping the blanket around my waist. I was naked.

“What happened?” I said incredulously.

“What do you think?” He said and sat up next to me. He cupped my face in his hands and leaned forward, his lips a breath away. I was about to lean forward and kiss him but suddenly I smelled burning wood and the distinct smell of a funeral pyre.

I saw my clothes on the ground, pulled on my pants and got up. The village!

“Keith,” Shiro said. “Stay here with me.”

“No! I have to save the village,” I said and exited the tent. I was back at the village with the burning buildings and bodies in the street. Only this time Lotor was atop his horse only a distance away from me.

I could see his smirk from even that far away.

“Come out, come out wherever you are, little Paladin,” he said and suddenly the world blurred away and I woke up with a startle.

I was still in someone’s arms. When I turned to my side I saw Shiro fast asleep with his eyes closed. So he did put his arm around me in his sleep.

I turned the other way and saw Coran fast asleep.

I closed my eyes and tried to enjoy this moment for as long as it would last. Even though it was fake. Even though my dream—well the first part of my dream—could never come true. Shiro had his arm around me without even knowing it—and accident.

But for just one moment I wanted to pretend he put it around me because he loved me like I loved him.

I opened my eyes and saw Shiro’s arm being pulled away and he stretched his arm over his head.

He sat up and yawned. He was in fact shirtless, but I knew it was nothing like the dream…

“Sorry if I woke you,” he said.

Look at his eyes, look at his eyes. Don’t look at his chest. Or those muscles. And definitely not that trail of hair that leads into his pants and dammit there I am looking aren’t I?

“It’s okay, I should be up anyways,” I said. I wasn’t going to tell him that I’d been awake…

“And sorry about this,” he said laughing and pointing to his metal arm. “This thing has a mind of it’s own, huh?” He suddenly looked concerned. “Keith? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said and got up. I left the tent and sat by the burnt wood from where the campfire had been. Allura was sitting there with a raven, she looked up at me and seemed a little startled.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I’m sending a message to my people,” she explained and sent the Raven off with a message tied to its foot.

I nodded and dug my foot into the dirt.

“Is everyone ready?” Shiro said from behind me.

I turned around to see him standing there with his shirt back on.

“Yes!” Allura said. “Coran!”

Coran emerged from the tent and yawned. “Princess?”

“We’re going to be leaving soon,” she said. “I’ll help you pack everything.”

“No—consider it done,” he said and it took no time for him to pack up the tents, blankets, and the cooking ware we had by the camp. The only other things we had we our weapons. Other than that Lotor’s soldiers had stolen what we had.

We headed out to go to the Western Sea.

This time we went down through the outskirts of the Great Forest. We made it to the Western Sea without too much harm. When we got to the sea we were relieved that we didn’t see Lotor or his army.

There was something washed up on the shore. And upon stepping closer I saw that it was a person.

Shiro ran over to the person and checked their pulse. “They’re still alive.”

It was a boy covered in scars and burns. When I saw his face I knew. It was him—the paladin. I remembered him from my vision.

“It’s him!” I said.

“Who?” Shiro asked.

“He’s the next Paladin,” I said. “I’m sure of it.”

“Let me assist,” Allura said and came to the side of the Paladin. She held her hands above him and light radiated from her hands. The Paladin’s body glowed and then suddenly the boy coughed out and opened his eyes. He staggered back a little bit and sat with his hands behind him.

“We mean you no harm,” Allura said.

“You can harm me any day,” he said with a wink.

“It seems he’s fine,” I said.

“The only one who’s fine here is--”

“What happened to you?” Shiro asked.

“We were attacked,” he said. “It was Lotor.”

“Where is your village?” I asked.

“It’s a city,” the boy corrected. “And it’s under the sea.”

“The Lost City of the Merfolk?” Allura asked.

“Not exactly what we call it, but yes,” he said.

"That makes you a Merman!" Allura beams.

"Why yes it does," he said. "I'm Lance."

"Allura," she said.

“It makes sense,” I said. “Lost at sea…”

“What are you talking about?” He asked.

“Oh right,” I said. “Do you happen to have an amulet?”

“You mean this?” He asked and revealed an amulet from under his shirt.

“That’s what Lotor is looking for,” Shiro said. “It’s the amulet of Voltron. You’re a Paladin of Voltron.”

“Voltron! Hell yeah!” He cheered and stood up. “I say Vol you say Tron! Vol…” He looked at me.

“Uh…Vol…Tron?” I replied

“No! No, I say Vol you say…”

“Voltron?”

“Oh my god, just forget about it,” he said and shook his head.


End file.
